GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The fourth-ranked and second-seeded Anderson women's golf team was among the final four teams standing, Friday afternoon in head-to-head medal match play at the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championships after outlasting nationally second-ranked and No. 7 seed Lynn, 3-2, in the quarterfinals, but third-ranked Limestone edged the Trojans, 3-1-1, in the semifinals later Friday afternoon.
The Greater Gainesville Sports Alliance and North Georgia are hosting the tournament on a par-72, 6,004-yard Chattahoochee Golf Club layout.
Fifth-seeded Barry advanced to the afternoon's semifinals by holding off No. 4 seed Lee, 3-1-1, while eighth-seeded Findlay ousted top-ranked and defending champion Dallas Baptist, 3-2.
Junior Emma Charles battled Lynn All-American Sara Ericsson shot-for-shot and held a one-stroke lead on the front nine, but a double-bogey on the par-4 11th hole allowed Ericsson to tie the match and she built the lead to two shots with a birdie on 14 before winning the matchup by four strokes.
In her quarterfinal matchup, senior Kerington Lamb reached par on the third hole, while Lynn's Camila Madariaga double-bogeyed the par-3 to give Lamb a lead she would not relinquish, and the Easley native steadily built the advantage to six shots midway through the back nine before claiming the five-stroke victory.
Sophomore Jessica Rathbone trailed just once – on the first hole – but held a one-shot lead at the turn and reached par on three straight holes to build a four-shot lead before claiming the point by six strokes. Veteran Victoria Hall may well have turned in the Trojans' most dominant performance in the quarterfinal round, as the senior from Moore used three birdies on the front nine to craft a five-stroke lead and birdied the 11th hole to edge out to a decisive six-shot advantage with seven holes to play, en route to the five-shot win.
Lynn All-American Maria Hoyos opened up a five-shot lead on AU's Kennedy McGaha after five holes, but the freshman answered by reaching par on three consecutive holes (7th, 8th and 9th) to slice the deficit to just one but was unable to get any closer over the back nine.
Friday afternoon's semifinal matchup against fellow South Atlantic Conference-member Limestone saw the Trojans edge the Saints in a back-and-fourth affair that featured a combined 27 ties over the 90 holes.
The matchup was knotted at 1-1-3 with a combined nine holes to play after Rathbone clinched her point by one and the Saints Taylor Oberparleiter leading Lamb by two strokes with two holes to play. McGaha and LU's Maria Morales were deadlocked through 17 holes, with Hall and Stina Wikstrom tied following 15 holes and Charles and Ebba Hellman, the SAC Player of the Year, knotted with four holes to play.
Rathbone snapped an early tie with back-to-back birdies on the sixth and seventh holes and held off the Saints' Lena Schilowsky down the stretch. Lamb and Oberparleiter were even following the 10th hole, but bogeys by Lamb on 11 and 12 and a birdie by Oberparleiter on the par-3 13th enabled the Laurel Springs, N.J., native to grab a two-stroke edge.
McGaha and Morales battled to a tie after 18 holes, with Hall and Wikstrom tied on 10 of the first 17 holes, including the 17th before Wikstrom took advantage of a double-bogey on the 18th. Hellman grabbed a one-stroke lead over Charles with par on the 15th and held on to win the point.
Saturday's championship match is slated to get underway at 9 a.m., with the third-seeded Saints squaring off against No. 8-seeded Findlay.
Quarterfinal Results
#2 Anderson def. #7 Lynn, 3-2
#3 Limestone def. #6 West Texas A&M, 4-1
#8 Findlay def. #1 Dallas Baptist, 3-2
#5 Barry def. #4 Lee, 3-1-1
Anderson / Lynn
Sara Ericsson 75, Emma Charles 79
Kerington Lamb 73, Camila Madariaga 78
Jessica Rathbone 72, Adriana Iribarren 78
Victoria Hall 72, Alice Gatti 77
Maria Hoyos 70, Kennedy McGaha 72
Semifinal Results
#3 Limestone def. #2 Anderson, 3-1-1
#8 Findlay def. #5 Barry, 4-1
Anderson / Limestone
Jessica Rathbone 76, Lena Schilowsky 77
Taylor Oberparleiter 73, Kerington Lamb 76
Kennedy McGaha 75, Maria Morales 75
Stina Wikstrom 76, Victoria Hall 78
Ebba Hellman 75, Emma Charles 77
NOTABLES
• The Trojans won their three quarterfinal matches by a combined 16 strokes, while dropping two by just six shots.
• AU claimed its semifinal win by one shot while dropping three matches by a combined seven strokes.
• Two of the four semifinalists (Anderson and Limestone) were from the South Atlantic Conference.
• Three of the four semifinalists (Anderson, Limestone and Barry) were from the South Region.
• Five of the eight teams in the quarterfinals were from the South Region.
• Victoria Hall competed as an individual at the 2019 National Championships.
• Emma Charles competed as an individual at the 2021 National Championships.
• Dallas Baptist was the defending national champion.
• Indianapolis was seeking its third title in seven years.
• Barry won the 2017 National Championship.
